With Sugar, Sugar the Christmas Special you won't even know you're improving your math skills using logic, creativity, and critical thinking. Direct the sugar crystals with your mouse to the mug(s). See how many tries you need. If you don't solve a level, try it multiple times. There's more than one way to solve each level. Sometimes the sugar even falls UP!This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This interactive would be perfect for use on classroom computers. Demonstrate on your interactive whiteboard. Use the game as a prompt for math journals. Have students write about their efforts in directing the sugar crystals into the mugs and their thought process as they made changes. Have them record how many tries they needed for each level.

Enjoy a colorful look at Santa's Village. NorthPole has games (concentration, word searches, counting money, telling time, mazes, and more), and you can even play checkers with Santa. Attend the Elf Academy, read stories about your elf, send animated Christmas postcards, write Santa a letter and get a reply! For those into the maker movement, there are holiday crafts to make with directions and free templates. Create an account and register your students at the same time. Students will be assigned a user ID and password.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Introduce the NorthPole to students by projecting it for all to see the different areas to explore. Add a link to classroom computers for the entire site or specific areas. Post a link on your class web page or newsletter for parents and students to use at home. Consider demonstrating how to write a letter to Santa or send a postcard to a relative from this site.

MathPapa provides step-by-step Algebra help through practice and lessons. Use the Algebra Calculator to solve equations and view each step in solving the equation. Select the practice page to choose from several different practice activities; use your email or Facebook to create your account and log in. Click on the Lessons link to learn Algebra with five lessons beginning with the basics. Download the free app for Apple and Android for use on any mobile device. Lesson videos reside on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Freemake Video Converter, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

MathPapa is an excellent addition to any Algebra classroom. Provide a link on classroom computers for students to use to solve problems and view the step-by-step process. Share on an interactive whiteboard as you discuss steps for solving Algebra problems. Share a link to MathPapa on your class web page for student use at home. If you are beginning the process of integrating technology, have students create blogs sharing their learning and understanding using Loose Leaves, reviewed here. This blog creator requires no registration. Share MathPapa with younger students who have mastered basic math facts and are ready to learn basic Algebra.

Create engaging and informative surveys and polls from any device using Survey Anyplace. Create an account using your email to begin. Follow prompts to build a survey with a variety of different question formats including multiple choice, open-ended, images, and more. Choose from the many design templates to add color and interest to your survey. Free plans offer an unlimited amount of surveys each month with up to 20 monthly responses.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use Survey Anyplace to accomplish multiple tasks. Create a quiz as a tool for checking prior knowledge or making a quick assessment. Have students answer exit questions or see what students remember from the previous day. Use for formative assessment to identify misconceptions that students may have at the start of a unit. ESL/ELL and world language teachers could use this for vocabulary practice. Have students create quizzes with characteristics of story characters for classmates to see which character they are most like. Students could also create a quiz to present to his/her peers after giving a class presentation. One warning - Survey Anyplace only offers 20 responses per month with its free plan, be sure to keep this in mind. One workaround is to use multiple email accounts to create and share surveys and quizzes. One feature of Gmail is you can create multiple sub-accounts, explained here; this tells how to set up Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service.

Find thousands of free images and stock photos for use with digital media at picjumbo. Preview and download images free of charge. Browse through categories or use the keyword search to view available images. Be aware: this site may have some topics not appropriate for the classroom. We suggest previewing images before allowing students to search independently.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site to search for photos for presentations, projects, or research. Take advantage of this opportunity to discuss proper use and sharing of online images and information. For ESL/ELL students or speech/language, use the pictures for them to create their own visual dictionary. World language teachers can also challenge students to use images to illustrate vocabulary or accompany writing. Use photos for writing prompts or even to create descriptive sentences. Have one student describe the picture as another sketches the image. Now compare the described image to the real image.

Use video to assign work and assess students. Recap is a free video response and reflection tool. Set up an account with email, create a class or classes, and invite students with a code. You can input student names, or they can sign up with an email. Both ways the student will need the code. Create questions in text and/or audio or video. Assign to individual students or the whole class, set a due date, decide whether you want students to take the self-assess poll or not, set the maximum time for students to respond (between 15 seconds to two minutes) in their own assessment video, then click done. Students respond using any browser on a computer/laptop or an iPad. Recap has made this process super simple! They have a thorough support section, and, oh yes, you can respond to students by clicking "Leave Feedback."

In the Classroom

Use Recap in any subject. Create prompts for students to respond to about anything and everything. Challenge students to reflect on their learning at the end of a unit, research project, or literature circle. Here are just a few example questions to ask: What are some things you did well on this assignment? What mistakes did you make on your last assignment that you did not make on today's assignment? What would you do differently? What would you like to learn more about?

Use Recap as follow up for a flipped assignment. Ask students to explain what they understand and/or still don't understand about a concept. You can review the responses before class the next day. Use it as and exit "slip" before students leave class or as a warm up at the beginning of class (what do they remember about the lesson taught yesterday). World language students can practice speaking in their new language and choose the best video to turn into their teacher. Student or teacher can explain a series of steps in an assignment or concept, one at a time (great for differentiation). Math students can explain the steps they took to solve a problem and why. Art students can explain a creation, either theirs or a famous artists, talking about techniques. Music students can perform and explain their learning, or reflect on their performan

Interact with students in real-time with Class Responder. Assign lessons, create quizzes and activities, then view student responses on any device. Create your account with email, then follow prompts to add students, create groups, and choose response options. Class Responder activities are for grades 1-6, However, you can create your own for older students. Activities offered on the site include correlation to state and national standards.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Be sure to click the "Help" link at the bottom of a page or the upper right corner of any page for information about using and setting up Class Responder. Use Class Responder in a 1:1 classroom, then have students provide feedback in real-time to demonstrate understanding. Use as an exit slip, to identify material that needs to be retaught, or to locate specific students that need remediation. Class Responder is perfect for use in Flipped classrooms to share videos and ask questions before students come to class. Create several activities to save just in case you need an extra lesson on short notice, need to have a substitute, or to use as an at-home lesson for snow days.

Create 3D scenes using descriptive sentences to make images. WordsEye is a must see tool! After signing up with email or a Facebook account, use WordsEye on the web or iOS devices. There is an intro video that shows exactly how easy it is to use WordsEye. Besides a thorough FAQs page, WordsEye also has a YouTube page with several other explainer videos. Keep scenes private, publish to the gallery or create a permalink (URL). A nice feature is that WordsEye will automatically credit you with any scene someone else uses or modifies (and vice-versa). If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Freemake Video Converter, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Turn on your students' creative side with WordsEye! There are SO many ways to use WordsEye in classrooms: ESL/ELL students can create sentences, and correct them if the image doesn't look correct. Have ESL/ELL and world language students set up their own visual dictionary. Challenge students to create images and then use them with the class as a writing prompt. Tell them they have to create a story, not try to recreate the sentence that produced the image. Challenge students to create a multimedia presentation about class content using their created images and sentences and UtellStory, reviewed here. Digital storytellers can use the 3D images for the reader to see what is happening in the story. Alternatively, they can upload their image to Thinglink, reviewed here, and tell the story around the image. Share the link for this tool with your school's art teacher as an excellent tool for use with art projects, and post the link on your website for students to use at home. Since registration is via email, for young students consider using a "class set" of Gmail subaccounts, explained here; this tells how to configure Gmail subaccounts to use for any online membership service. Using Gmail subaccounts will provide anonymous interaction within your class.

Edore offers Common Core based lessons that connects learning to real life concepts and interests. Sign up to collect and organize lessons, customize materials for your needs, create content, and assign activities. Search by grade level or keyword to find activities based on popular movies, T.V. shows, and sports figures. If your district blocks YouTube, then they may not be viewable. You could always view the videos at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Take advantage of the many lessons and activities on Edore to motivate reluctant learners through information that interests them. Even if you don't teach using Common Core Standards, activities on the site can be modified to match any curriculum. Use activities on this site as a model for creating lessons featuring pop culture that relates to your students. Assign sets found on Edore to your class as practice and review of concepts taught in class.

Create and design custom labels with Labeley. Choose from shapes, borders, backgrounds, and more to create your image. You need to create an account to save and work with finished designs. Once logged in, save your label and use provided links to share through social networking options. Another option for saving while logged in is to right click and save directly to your computer.

In the Classroom

Have students create images in Labeley to add to book reports and multimedia projects. Have students upload a picture of themselves doing their favorite activity and label it with amusing text or a favorite quote (or song lyrics?). Have them upload images that represent their interests and character traits using 4 Free Photos, reviewed here, from the public domain, or Morguefile, reviewed here, creative images freely contributed without concern about copyright. Of course, proper credit must be given. Create a picture for a character from a story and add text descriptions of character traits. For other uses, have students practice new words in a world language class by labeling and identifying images in that language. Create writing prompts using several annotated images. Have students create annotated images to explain key terms in science class.

Do you have a home library of cookbooks or magazines with recipes you want to try? How about a classroom library? Libib is a tool for cataloging books and other media in the cloud. Organize books, movies, music, magazines, and video games using Libib's cloud cataloging features. Catalog your media, then add tags, leave notes, and share with others. Gather opinions about current books and movies. Scan items or search using ISBN numbers to add cover art and other pertinent information automatically.

In the Classroom

Libib is perfect for organizing and cataloging your classroom book collection. Use the tag features to organize your collection by genres, subject, authors, or any way you need. Tag books for specific students or reading levels. Post a link on your web page and share Libib with your students as a way for them to give opinions on current books and movies.

Listen to your favorite music on Google's Play Music. From the landing page choose Today's Biggest Hits, Brand New Music, Working Out, Waking Up Happy, Getting Ready, or Get Personalized Recommendations. Once you use this tool, the landing page will include: Get More Stations, Recent Activity, and Recommended For You. After making a selection, choices will be narrowed down to three, choose one and click the orange arrow to start listening. From this streaming music player, give the song a thumbs up or down. Thumbs down will skip that selection, but you only get to do that seven times in an hour. Using the thumbs up or down helps Google put together a recommended list. The free option offers playlist, artist's channels, on-demand streams, and integration with YouTube. Access Google Play Music via the web and Android or iOS mobile apps.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Play music selections quietly during student work time. Filter distractions by finding instrumentals to play during silent reading time, test taking, lab activities, or any other quiet time during class. This tool would also be perfect for performance groups such as drama clubs or musicals that need background music. Use background music for poetry readings during poetry month. As an introduction to a poetry unit, have the class vote on a song and its lyrics to analyze. Whether studying poetry or not, older students may have an "intriguing" song where they want to figure out its meaning. Try using a tool like Genius, reviewed here, to annotate the lyrics to any song. Also, view crowdsourced knowledge for that song and thousands of others with Genius.

Present and share PDF documents directly onto viewer devices with browser capability using beamium as participants follow along in real time. No registration is required; however, registration allows storage of documents for longer than 14 days. After uploading the document, share the unique i.d. for viewers to follow along or email a link to the presentation. Presenter tools include different viewing options, zoom, and a laser pointer.

In the Classroom

beamium is perfect for use in BYOD classrooms allowing students to follow along with any presentation. If you need to convert documents to PDF, use a site such as Online-Convert, reviewed here. Take advantage of the zoom and laser pointer features to highlight important information during presentations. Create an account and share links to presentations on your class websites for students to access at any time.

Tolks is a simple storytelling tool. Create an account using your Facebook or Twitter profile. Choose characters (or upload an image). Don't forget to delete the "dummy images." Next, add dialogue, by deleting the text in the default box, then preview and edit or save. Simple! Share your Tolk using the URL or links to Facebook or Twitter.

In the Classroom

For younger students, consider creating a class account for Tolks. Have students create Tolks to discuss literature, such as a conversation between characters or descriptions of feelings. Create Tolks to share on an interactive whiteboard or projector as lesson starters or display at the end of a lesson with characters discussing essential information from a lesson. Upload images of shapes and have students compare and contrast features. World language students can create simple conversations in the language they are learning or label pictures for vocabulary. You will find many uses for Tolks in your classroom! Counselors may want to have students create a Tolk to share information that may be difficult to discuss in person. Of course, be very careful not to share private information.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional development session from November 2016, opens in Adobe Connect. Explore three online tools for working with images. Discover the differences between the three tools. Discuss and learn ways to use images in the classroom. Share ideas for different ways that images could be used in the classroom. Create a project exemplar for use in your classroom. Remember, it's OK2Ask'®. As a result of this session and through individual follow-up, teachers will: (1) Learn about and compare 3 different tools for working with images; (2) Evaluate the uses for working with these tools in the classroom; (3) Share ideas for using tools with other participants; and (4) Start a project using one of the given tools. This session is for teachers at ALL technology comfort levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

Thimble is an online tool for teaching HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and creating web pages. Start from scratch or choose a remix project as a learning tool. Each remix includes a tutorial with instructions about changing and personalizing content. When working on a creation Thimble offers a side-by-side view, one for the coding portion, the other showing the appearance and content as it shows on a web page. Choose to show desktop or mobile device appearance. Email registration is required to publish and save web pages to Mozilla Webmaker. Once created, users can copy and paste the HTML into any web page host.

In the Classroom

Use Thimble as an excellent tool for students to learn to code through simple projects. Thimble doesn't offer step-by-step directions, so it is more useful for students who love to explore and interact on their own. Have students use Thimble's Remixes to create comic book explanations of science concepts or social studies events. Use the Six Word Summer Teaching Toolkit as a great way to teach summarizing, and of course, this toolkit for summarizing will work for many other topics!

Code your own art, music, and interactive fiction with Pencil Code Gym. The main language is Coffescript, but you can press the gear button to use HTML, Javascript, and CSS. Follow instructions to code using drag and drop blocks or text. Click the pencil in the upper left corner to see several resources including Materials for Teachers, Teachers Manual, Printable Activities, and several others. Toggle back and forth between the two formats to view the different formats. The wide range of activities make this site perfect for use with students of all levels of coding abilities. When complete, share finished projects on "GymStage", the sharing portion of Pencil Code Gym.

In the Classroom

Create a link on classroom computers for use as centers. Use the text options for students to use with digital storytelling. This site is perfect for differentiating different levels of coding skills. Allow students to explore at their own pace, then share their creations with classmates. Challenge students or groups to create videos explaining their creations using theLearnia, reviewed here, and share them on a site such as TeacherTube, reviewed here. Be sure to add a link to your class website for students to practice at home.

Comments

Great resource for all ages, more appropriate for middle school and above.Melissa, , Grades: 0 - 5

Geometry Math is Fun provides an extensive catalog of descriptions and explanations for geometry vocabulary. Each clickable link leads to an explanation of terms along with images (some animated) demonstrating and explaining the term. In addition to basic terms, this site includes information on geometric symbols, tools used in geometry, and advanced topics in plane geometry.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site on your interactive whiteboard to introduce and reinforce geometry concepts and vocabulary. Be sure to add a link to the site on your class website for students to access at home. Have students create an annotated image including text boxes and related links using a tool such as Thinglink, reviewed here to demonstrate geometry in everyday objects.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional development session from November 2016, opens in Adobe Connect. Explore the teacher-friendly features of TeachersFirst to help you save time in developing technology infused lessons. Participants will learn new strategies to incorporate the tools of the web successfully into any classroom. As a result of this session and through individual follow-up, teachers will: (1) Locate resources within TeachersFirst to provide real-world learning experiences for their students; (2) Locate and evaluate effective, web-based tools and resources in support of teaching and learning, both for themselves and for their students; (3) Evaluate TeachersFirst membership features applicable to their individual technology expertise and teaching situation; (4) Find solutions to individual questions or practical problems of their teaching situation by exploring TeachersFirst and/or asking live questions during the session; and (5) Plan to use the features of TeachersFirst's value-added reviews to plan technology infused lessons. This session is for teachers at ALL technology comfort levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.

This recording of an OK2Ask online professional development session from October 2016, opens in Adobe Connect. Enrich and improve student writing with digital storytelling - giving written stories voice, imagery, and power. Learn to promote higher level thinking while students develop creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills to take narratives to the next level. In this session, we will begin by exploring ways to improve writing with story development steps and tools; discover tech tools for editing and sharing student drafts; and finally, discuss strategies for collaborative writing. Our digital storytelling guest expert, author, speaker, writer, Jason Ohler, joins us to help you begin your journey into digital storytelling. As a result of this session and through individual follow-up, teachers will: (1) Learn how digital storytelling can enrich narrative writing; (2) Discover ways to improve narrative writing with story development steps and tools; and (3) Explore a variety of web based tools and resources to improve writing. This session is for teachers at ALL technology comfort levels.

In the Classroom

The archive of this teacher-friendly, hands-on webinar will empower and inspire you to use learning technology in the classroom and for professional productivity. As appropriate, specific classroom examples and ideas have been shared. View the session with a few of your teaching colleagues to find and share new ideas. Find additional information and links to tools at the session resource page. Learn more about OK2Ask and upcoming sessions here.